NASA's Orion spacecraft gazes back at Earth and the Moon from distant orbit

Orion will be an exploration vehicle for the crew, providing abort capability, a safe reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, and sustaining the crew while traveling through space.

Orion is using SLS

Orion is using the Space Launch System, which is NASA's heavy-lifting rocket system.

Moon to Mars

The Artemis missions are just the beginning, there is the Moon to Mars mission, which is a wide-ranging initiative. NASA will be working with their teams and international commercial teams, to send humans to the moon and Mars.

The first woman on the Moon

One of Artemis's goals is to land the first woman on the moon, along with one man, in 2024. This ambitious program over the next 18 months is accelerating a four-year plan of the same exploration program.

“With bipartisan support from Congress, our 21st-century push to the Moon is well within America’s reach,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “As we’ve solidified more of our exploration plans in recent months, we’ve continued to refine our budget and architecture. We’re going back to the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and inspiration for a new generation of explorers. As we build up a sustainable presence, we’re also building momentum toward those first human steps on the Red Planet.”

Artemis I in Orion

In this bold project, the Artemis progress to date, the Orion spacecraft will be identifying key science, and technology, and broadening human missions into space. This will be enhanced by a wide range of commercial and international partnerships to meet demanding mission goals.